Funder: Agency for Health Care Research and Quality
Due Dates: Standard NIH due dates through October 31, 2026 | Next: October 31, 2026 (final)
Funding Amounts: Up to $50,000 direct costs per year; project period: 1 year (single-year) or up to 3 years (multi-year, for recurring conferences)
Summary: Supports conferences that advance evidence-based improvements in healthcare safety, quality, accessibility, equity, and affordability.
Key Information: Composite categorical budget is required; applications missing this will not be reviewed.
Description
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) Conference Grant Programs (R13) provide support for conferences and scientific meetings that further AHRQ’s mission to improve the safety, quality, accessibility, equity, and affordability of healthcare. These grants are intended to facilitate the development, dissemination, and implementation of health services research, foster methodological innovation, and build research capacity.
AHRQ is especially interested in conferences that:
- Address agency priorities (e.g., patient safety, data/technology for quality improvement, innovative care delivery/financing).
- Include strategies for disseminating conference materials and products beyond event participants.
- Engage a broad range of stakeholders, including patients, clinicians, policymakers, and underserved or priority populations.
Eligible conference types include:
- Research development (defining issues and research agendas)
- Research design and methodology (addressing methodological/technical issues)
- Dissemination and implementation (sharing evidence-based findings and tools)
- Research training, infrastructure, and career development (not for didactic training)
Due Dates
- Standard NIH due dates apply (see NIH Standard Due Dates)
- Final application deadline: October 31, 2026
- No letter of intent required
- Allow at least 8 months from application receipt to earliest possible start date
Funding Amount
- Maximum direct costs: $50,000 per year
- Project period:
- Single-year: up to 1 year
- Multi-year: up to 3 years (for recurring conferences, with annual support for up to 5 years if proposed by a permanently sponsoring organization)
- Facilities & Administrative (F&A) costs: Not allowed
- Partial support: Allowed; all sources of funding must be disclosed in a composite categorical budget
Eligibility
Eligible applicants include:
- Public and private institutions of higher education (including HBCUs, Hispanic-serving, Tribal, and AANAPISI institutions)
- Nonprofits (with or without 501(c)(3) status, except institutions of higher education)
- State, county, city, township, and special district governments
- Independent school districts
- Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities
- Federally recognized and other Native American tribal governments/organizations
- U.S. territories and possessions
- Eligible federal agencies
Not eligible: For-profit organizations, foreign institutions, and non-U.S. components of U.S. organizations (may participate as consortium members or subcontractors only).
Note: The applicant must play a substantive role in the project and not merely serve as a conduit for funds.
Application Process
- Submission: Electronic only via Grants.gov using the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide. Paper applications are not accepted.
- Required registrations: SAM, eRA Commons, Grants.gov (may take 6+ weeks; start early)
- Application components:
- Project summary/abstract (must specify conference type)
- Research plan
- Composite categorical budget (showing all funding sources)
- Budget justification
- Letters of support (if applicable)
- Human subjects and/or vertebrate animal sections (if relevant)
- Data Management Plan (if applicable)
- Appendices: Only limited materials allowed (see SF424 instructions)
- Review criteria: Significance, innovation, approach, investigator(s), environment, inclusion of priority populations, budget reasonableness, and alignment with AHRQ priorities
Important: Applications missing the required composite categorical budget will not be reviewed.
Additional Information
- Allowable costs: Rental of equipment, travel (economy class), supplies, conference services (e.g., recording, translation), publication/dissemination costs, salaries (proportional to effort), consultant fees.
- Unallowable costs: Equipment purchase, registration fees, food/beverages, entertainment, honoraria, F&A costs, promotional items, costs for federal employees, CME credits, patient care, alterations/renovations.
- Reporting: Executive summary and participant evaluation due within 90 days post-conference; annual and final reports required for multi-year awards.
- Priority populations: AHRQ expects inclusion of priority and underserved populations in conference planning and content.
- Dissemination: Plans for sharing conference outcomes nationally are strongly encouraged, especially for regionally-based events.
External Links
Contact Information
| Topic | Contact | Email / Phone |
|---|
| General NOFO questions | Division of Policy, Coordination and Analysis, Office of Extramural Research, Education and Priority Populations, AHRQ | grant_queries@ahrq.hhs.gov |
| Peer review issues | Division of Scientific Review, Office of Extramural Research, Education, and Priority Populations, AHRQ | DSR@ahrq.hhs.gov |
| Fiscal/grants management | Brian Campbell, Office of Management Services, Division of Grants Management, AHRQ | brian.campbell@ahrq.hhs.gov, (301) 427-1266 |
| Grants.gov support | Grants.gov Customer Support | support@grants.gov, 800-518-4726 |
| eRA Commons/ASSIST | eRA Service Desk | https://www.era.nih.gov/need-help, 1-866-504-9552 |